


Superhero Secrets

by SpacePrinceLance



Series: Superhero Secrets [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: (Eventually anyways), Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Falling In Love, Fluff, M/M, Relationship(s), Romance, Romantic Tension, Sad, Team Bonding, yes this will get sad i'm sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-03
Updated: 2018-01-28
Packaged: 2018-08-12 17:52:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7943740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpacePrinceLance/pseuds/SpacePrinceLance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was hopeless. Or rather it being hopeless, it was more of an incomplete notion that anything could ever possibly happen between him and Blue. Out of all the members of Team Voltron, that’s who he fell for. And he didn’t even know who was behind that mask. It didn’t matter, because Red loved him anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Acknowledgement

**Author's Note:**

> this fic is entirely written almost exactly like a dream i had, except instead of a laundromat lance just 'accidentally' bumped into keith on the street and that didn't seem natural enough to me??? but everything besides the laundromat place so far was taken straight from my dream
> 
> i also have like 2 other fics from years ago i never finished but i'm literally that passionate about this stupid ship i'm going to force myself to finish this if it's the last thing i do
> 
> well unless i see not many people reading it i might just summarize it instead if it comes down to that, but i really hope not!
> 
> i haven't written anything extensive for a REALLY long time so if you see any errors or if the writing is a little sloppy, uh...that's why;; >.>

It was the only way he knew how to keep everyone safe. But now the time was coming where Black Lion would need to tell Blue Lion the truth, whether he wanted to or not. He could feel that something terrible was going to happen soon, and this was the best solution that he could come up with.

“I’m worried about Red Lion,” The dark-masked hero admitted, under the guise of being Black Lion.

“Why? Did he do something?” Blue Lion interjected, biting off a piece of his sandwich in the process. Black sighed briskly, clear concern showing on his face. Blue was afraid to ask, but he already had, so he braced himself for whatever Black had to say.

“Not necessarily, but the way he’s been acting has me worried. It’s almost as though he’s more preoccupied than usual. As if there’s something immensely bothering him but because we keep our identities secret from each other, he has no one to talk to.” Blue glanced at Black, nervousness setting in as he felt like he was going to be asked some sort of favor.

“But you know our identities. We had to tell you, for the sake of trust within a leader.” Black nodded, arms crossed, but he stood silent for a few moments.

“Yes, but I’m going to tell you Red’s.”

“H-Hold on a sec! Isn’t that dangerous? I mean, I know we’re supposed to trust our team and everything but if word got out about our identities, that’s going to paint a HUGE target on our backs!”

“ _Lance,_ ” Black Lion accentuated, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “You are all my trusted companions. We fight against injustice together. You are brilliant and very good with socializing with people. With you focusing on Red, I know we’ll be able to help him.” He smiled as he said this, light dimples appearing at the corners of his cheeks. Blue could do nothing but agree to help. He knew it was coming, but there was no way he could decline.

“Alright, I’ll help. How could I say no?” Black grinned, a rare goofy look sporting his features as he finally looked calm with the help from Blue.  
_From Lance_. He wondered why Black didn’t ask Yellow or Green to help, but Black always had a good reason for doing the things he did. That’s what made him a good leader.

“Good. As a matter of fact, you already know Red out of uniform.” Lance nearly choked on his sandwich upon hearing that.

“W-What? What do you mean I already know him?” Black was already prepared for Blue’s backlash, so he still remained composed as he explained.

“That’s right. The three of us went to the same highschool together. You two had the same Robotics class, Ms. Jordan Class 7.” Blue went completely wide-eyed, fearing that who he thought Red would be, indeed was who he thought. He nearly paled when Black said his name. “Red Lion is Keith Kogane.”

\- - -

He couldn’t believe he was doing this. Two years out of highschool and he was going to force himself to reunite with his devastatingly annoying rival. Well, it wasn’t so much as he was annoying and more of, whatever Lance accomplished, Keith had to find some way to beat him at it tenfold. 

Lance built a robot capable of using a magnet to pick up coins? Keith had to make a robot capable of throwing boulders set at specific coordinates over _miles_. He was always so frustrated by the fact that Keith constantly one-up’d him, like it was some sort of contest. A contest Keith always won. In Lance’s mind, he thought he’d never be good enough to rival Keith properly. 

Well, it was enough thinking like that. He had a job to do. Though, it wasn’t really a job. Lance and Keith had a history, and it wasn’t a good history as their normal identities, but as Blue Lion and Red Lion, they were a force of a team that could rival any villain. They worked exceedingly well together, and always had each others backs. Now knowing that the whole time it was Keith behind that mask send a chilling thought that wracked Lance’s brain about something he did not want to think about.

Shiro, otherwise (not) known as Black Lion, had told him to not tell Keith of his identity, under ANY circumstances. That, along with the job itself, would be hard to do. Lance wanted to rub it in Keith’s face that he was something worthy, someone that he could count on. A person he could trust. It was pointless thinking like that.

Right now, Lance approached the laundromat, the supposed building where Keith worked at part time when he wasn’t chasing villains around town. He inhaled calmly, ready to brace himself for possibly the worst decision he has ever made.

Walking inside, Lance could feel a very familial-like ambiance around the place. The air smelled of fresh lavender, lighting not too blinding but bright enough to illuminate every corner of the building, and bustling workers chittered happily from behind the counter. They almost looked like family, entertaining the customers with cheers and smiles that made it hard to come into this place feeling somber.

Looking around quickly, Lance spotted that mullethead right away, helping a customer who got their coins stuck in a machine. He watched for a moment, and when Keith was done and heading back behind the counter, Lance called out to him.

“Hey, Keith!” He spun around looking for who called out his name, until he saw a goofy-grinned idiot waving over to him. He blinked several times, most likely inquiring to himself as to why Lance was calling him over, but he walked over without much hesitation regardless.

“Lance? What are you doing here?” Was all that he said, a questioning look appearing clearly on his face. He probably thought Lance was here to cause trouble, but it was actually quite the opposite. Even if they were enemies in highschool, Lance wanted to help Shiro. _He wanted to help Keith_.  


“Well gee hello to you too.” At the sportive tone of Lance’s voice, Keith’s features softened slightly as he looked a little embarrassed to have jumped the gun a little early.

“Sorry, hi Lance.” He offered as he scratched the back of his neck, clearly a little nervous. “Did you need something?” And back to where we just were.

“Uh well…” He realized that he had no excuse for coming inside, other than to talk to Keith. But there’s no way he could actually _say_ that, so he just came up with some haphazard excuse that came off the top of his head. “I saw the vending machine from outside, and when I walked in I noticed you so I decided to say hi. That a crime?”

You could see slight guilt emanating off of Keith, but he kept quiet, as if thinking of an appropriate response to make him seem less hostile.

“Not that I don’t appreciate you saying hi, but can I ask why? I thought you hated me.” Now it was Lance’s turn to feel a small twinge of guilt. He never hated Keith, he was just viciously jealous of him. But he said that he hated him to his face. So of course he’d think that.

“N-No, it wasn’t like that,” Lance sputtered, cursing at himself for sounding so pathetic. “I just mean, it was highschool, right?” He lied through his teeth. Highschool had nothing to do with it. But he would never admit to Keith Kogane that he was jealous of him. Never.

“....Right.” Keith sounded convinced, but something about his demeanor told Lance that he wasn’t.

“Hey listen, whenever you get off work do you wanna hang out for a bit, maybe?” This question mildly shocked Keith, you could tell that he didn’t know how to answer. Many questions were buzzing in his head, the most important being ‘Why does Lance want to hang out?’ and ‘I thought this guy hated me?’

“Um...I guess? I might have to take off if I get a phone call though.” Lance kept himself from snickering, because he knew exactly what that meant. It was less of a phone call and more of a ‘page’, as in to let him know he was needed as Red Lion. Lance had the same device, but he was sure that the rest of the team could handle the town for a little while without them. If they weren’t, Black would have never sent him on this kind of mission.

“Awesome, what time should I come back then?” Keith looks towards the rustic brown clock on the wall above the door, and shook his head.

“Actually, I’m off in a few minutes. Just wait here, okay?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Lance sat sloppily in one of the waiting chairs, though it was supremely uncomfortable to sit in. Without even thinking about it, he had asked Keith to hang out with him. Obviously, the purpose of the mission was to get close to Keith so that he’d trust him enough to tell him whatever it was he was hiding, but Lance was skeptical. They had been such bitter rivals at Garrison Highschool that he didn’t think Keith would ever trust him with anything. Even if he could trust Lance, he’d never tell him that he was Red Lion. He wasn’t allowed to. That was the code of their team, to never tell a soul their identities aside from their leader.

Which could only mean one thing. The fact that Black Lion told Lance Red Lion’s identity meant that something really big and really bad was going on. There was no way he’d tell Lance Red’s identity if he was just ‘worried’ about him. There was never any ‘emotional’ secrets kept away from the team. But Keith was keeping a huge one.

He had noticed it himself too, actually. How distant Red had became lately, him not following orders correctly or getting surrounded way too easily. Lance paid attention to his team, and he’d sooner risk his own life if it meant keeping his teammates safe.

It just so happened to be that Keith was one of his teammates. He felt bad enough that he knew Shiro’s identity, he knew he was the only one of the team that knew. Or maybe Keith knew too? As far as Lance understood, he was the only one who knew. But that was because Shiro was the one who approached him first about making Team Voltron. When ‘The Accident’ happened. None of them could ever forget that.

Lance was snapped from his deep thoughts as a calloused hand gripped his shoulder, startling him completely.

“E-Err, sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” It was Keith, no longer sporting the business nametag and was now wearing some black 90’s fingerless gloves. What a weirdo.

“No prob, Bob. Let’s go.” Lance got up and began walking towards the front, only to be stopped abruptly.

“Oh yeah, about that.” He turned on his heel, confusion plastering his features. “It’s not like I can’t still ‘hang out’, but I take my motorbike to work. We’d have to ride on that.” Lance suddenly paled, as if this day couldn’t be any more stressful on his feeble mind. He wasn’t used to riding on motorcycles. Hell, he'd never even ridden one before! “Don’t worry, I do have an extra helmet. Never thought I’d have to use it, but I have it.” Something about that comment didn’t sit right with Lance, but he chose to ignore it.

“Yeah sure dude whatever works.” And with that, Keith led the two of them to his bike, and when Lance saw it he couldn’t believe how cool it looked. That deep-rooted jealousy was threatening to rear its head again, but Lance shoved it back down so that he could stay ‘civil’. He hadn’t realized how hard it was for him to be actually ‘nice’ to Keith, and something was deeply wrong with that. Why did it kill him to be so nice to him? There was no need for them to be rivals anymore, so what was his problem?

“You’ll have to hang on tight-- Actually, where are we going anyway?” Keith handed Lance the extra helmet as he hopped on the bike, waiting for him to get on and come up with wherever it was they were going.

“How do you feel about laser tag?” Lance suddenly blurted out without thinking.

“Um, never played so I don’t know. It sounds fun though, I guess?” That was all Lance needed to hear as he slipped on the helmet with ease and jumped over right behind Keith on his motorcycle.

“You and me. Laser tag. Right now. Straight to Laser Tag Palace. It’s down 161st.” Keith rolled his eyes as he revved the engine, speeding off with a semi-dangling Lance clung to poor Keith for dear life. Something new he learned about Keith: He loved to drive fast and reckless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm super curious as to what everyone's thoughts would be about their superpowers? i already have them figured out but i'd love to know everyone else's opinions!!
> 
> (and to make things clear, yes everyone is doning their 'lion color' as their superhero identity. however, eventually we will see a new member!)
> 
> and if you'd like to beta read my next chapter for me, feel free to send me a message! i'd love the help!


	2. Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hey so who’s your favorite Voltron hero?” Lance casually asked as Keith flipped through his menu, though Lance didn’t even touch his. He had come to Romano’s so often that he didn’t even need to look at the menu to know what he wanted.
> 
> “Blue Lion.” Keith said without even missing a beat. That answer surprised Lance, getting him a little bit flustered since that was not the answer he’d been expecting at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it's almost been an entire week??? i've been sick the last few days so last night i just said 'fuck it' and wrote nearly the entire thing until 12 am
> 
> this chapter we get some insight on how lance feels about the team and keith's....'subtle' hints.

“Unbelievable!” Lance cried, throwing up his arms in frustration. “I’m never taking you to laser tag ever again!” But Keith just laughed, a big, hearty laugh that made it hard for Lance to be angry at, because he had such a blast. And won.

“Aw come on Lance, it wasn’t _THAT_ bad.” Keith teased, poking his finger in Lance’s crossed arms.

“Inconceivable!” He shouted dramatically, shaking his fist in false aggressiveness.

“I don’t think that word means what you think it means.” Keith retorted, grinning when Lance caught on to his reference.

“Incredible. You’re just a big of a nerd as I knew you were.” But Keith just shrugged, that smile still littering his face. Even though Keith won never having played laser tag, they actually had a pretty close match. Lance’s excuse was that he let Keith win because he never played before, but they both knew that was a bold-faced lie.

“Hey, you actually don’t suck to be around like you had been in highschool.” Keith turned over on his motorcycle, waiting for Lance to get back on.

“Yeah yeah, laugh it up pretty boy.”

“Oh my God, did you just call me pretty boy?”

“I-It’s from a movie!”

“If you’re talking about Star Wars, the actual quote is ‘Laugh it up, fuzzball’. Just saying.”

“Shut up and drive.” Lance mumbled, shoving the helmet on his face and pouting not-so-discreetly from behind Keith.

“Where to, my liege?”

“Jesus Christ Keith just go to Romano’s or something I don’t care.” Lance had meant for that to come out meaner than he actually sounded, but even though previously he had found it hard to be nice to Keith, he also realized it was hard to be mean to him. He couldn’t figure out what in the hell he wanted to say, so his words came out in thoughts that weren’t processed very quickly.

“The macaroni grill? Seriously?” Keith raised an eyebrow, but started up the engine and headed down there anyway. Lance held onto Keith as to not fly the hell off the bike.

“Okay man don’t diss the mac, bro. It tastes like home on a rainy day in the summer.” Keith suppressed a laugh, and Lance suppressed the urge to kill him.

\- - -

Upon arriving at the grill, Lance slid his way into his favorite booth in the corner of the restaurant. Keith sat on the opposite side, keeping his mind slightly preoccupied as he discreetly watched the traffic roll by. Lance realized it would get awkward pretty quick if he didn’t think of some kind of topic they’d both be into. After several seconds of trying to think of something, he mentioned the only thing he knew they’d both be into.

“Hey so who’s your favorite Voltron hero?” Lance casually asked as Keith flipped through his menu, though Lance didn’t even touch his. He had come to Romano’s so often that he didn’t even need to look at the menu to know what he wanted.

“Blue Lion.” Keith said without even missing a beat. That answer surprised Lance, getting him a little bit flustered since that was not the answer he’d been expecting at all.

“O-Oh? Why Blue? I thought Red Lion would be more your style.” Keith set down his menu, glancing out to the traffic once again.

“Red Lion is cool, but…” He paused for a moment, as if every reason he could possibly have pooled together to form his answer. “I love the way that Blue works with the team. I’ve noticed it, on TV yanno. I remember at first, their team was a mess. Blue always got into trouble, but he also did his best. He still does. I don’t think the other team members realize how hard Blue works to keep them safe.”

Lance blushed, he hadn’t expected such a heartfelt answer, especially since it was about him. Not that Keith knew, anyway. He was certain that if Keith knew Lance was Blue Lion, he would’ve _never_ complimented him like that. With such earnestness and sincerity, it made Lance happy to know that Keith relied on him, even if he couldn’t know it.

“Hmmm, that so? Well, Blue’s my favorite too. He’s all like _WAH-POW! KZZZT! CHTTTTZ,_ ” Lance motioned rapidly with his arms in all directions while Keith snickered and rolled his eyes.

“Oh, yeah? So I guess you’re a pretty big fan of him too.”

“Well...I mean….Yeah. Black Lion is a really good leader, Yellow Lion holds everyone together really well and he’s strong as hell, Red Lion is super quick with timing and saves, and Green Lion is extremely smart and runs all our tactical strategies.” Lance rambled energetically, but stopped himself before he sounded too nerdy.

“Wait a second there, Billy Batson. ‘Our’?” Lance instantly blanched, he’d fucked up incredibly and he wasn’t sure how to fix it. Instead, he just blurted something out at random.

“Y-Yeah! Sometimes I uh...I play with my siblings and we pretend to be the Lions.” Keith chuckled at that answer, but it seemed to sate his curiosity over Lance’s slip-up.

“Alright, fair enough. And you’re saying that Blue Lion is just the ‘glue’ that holds them together?”

“N-No, not just that. It’s like you said. He works really well with the team.”

“But essentially what you’re saying is that his powers don’t work like the rest of the teams do. Right?” Lance bit his lip, because he didn’t know if any of the team ever noticed it. That sometimes….his powers didn’t work. Looks like Red noticed after all.

“Yeah, I guess. I didn’t think it showed on any of the news outlets, but I must be wrong if you noticed it too.” Keith flinched, and he’d never been more glad before that moment for the waitress to come up to them and take their order.

“I’ll take the Penne Rustica and just lemonade for me, thanks.”

“Gimmie the Farmhouse Pizza, and a Pepsi too.” Lance winked at the waitress as she took the menus from their table, walking away with a tiny little smile. “Heh, she digs me.”

“Woah there, Casanova. I can’t believe you still drink so much soda. You’re gonna rot those teeth of yours.” Scoffing mildly offended, Lance put his hand to his heart dramatically and made a solemn face.

“Keith! How could you say that? There’s no way these pearly whites will ever be sullied. I take care of my precious.”

“Oh my God stop talking.” They both started laughing, the anxiousness of the previous conversation melting off of Lance in waves. It was only natural that Keith noticed. After all, he was Red Lion. Blue was close with all the members of his team, but it was no secret that he and Red were the closest of the five of them. He wondered how that ended up happening, before a familiar face popped in through the front door. Lance’s eyes widened and his mouth gaped open when he processed who it was completely.

“Ivy!” Lance called to them, and the figure that looked over was a beautiful girl that had tan skin and short wavy chestnut hair. She wore a loose green and yellow tie-dyed shirt, black jean shorts, and cute white sandals that made her appear taller than she already was. When she smiled at Lance, she walked over and you could that she had the most olive green eyes that you’d ever seen, and her skin peppered with freckles from head to toe.

“Woah, Lance! Hi! I’m so happy to see you!” She smiled brightly, shyly brushing the side of her hair behind her ear. “Umm...Who’s this?” She gestured timidly towards Keith, who just stared at her without saying anything. Realizing he was being rude, he cleared his throat and extended his hand.

“S-Sorry, my name is Keith.” Ivy shook his hand, and did the same by telling him her name as well.

“I’m Ivy Glasgow. How do you two know each other? Unless…” She paused, glancing between the two boys expectantly. “Are you on a date?” If Lance or Keith had been eating any food at that time, they would’ve definitely choked on it.

“Oh hell no! Dating Lance? Not even if someone paid me to do it.”

“What? Rude! What’s wrong with dating me?”

“Because you’re…..you.” Ivy just stifled a laugh, smiling as they bickered at each other.

“You guys get along really well, don’t you.” Keith and Lance stopped their bickering, only to both look at Ivy as she said that.

“Uhh...I guess. We used to hate each other back in highschool.” Just then, you could hear a small gasp from Ivy.

“Oh! This is that Keith? He’s the one who kept beating you in tournaments in class, right? I’m sure you did great, Lance!” Lance gave a look of horror as Ivy said that, while Keith looked at him for some sort of explanation.

“Ivy! He wasn’t supposed to know about that!” He cried, resting his head on the table between his arms. Ivy moved both of her hands to her mouth, signaling her surprise.

“Oops! I’m so sorry Lance!” Pushing away what Ivy had said to the back of his mind, Keith instead brought up a different topic.

“If anything, I’d figure you two were dating with the way that you talk.” Suddenly, the two of them got quiet, and Lance raised his head. It took a few moments before either of the two said anything.

“Uh, yeah. Actually we did date for awhile. After I graduated, Ivy and I met at a jet ski match during the summer. I wiped out on a rock that was underwater but high enough to knock me off. Ivy saw me and well...She saved my life.” You could see Ivy try and hide her embarrassment, glaring at the ground while her head was turned away.

“Y-Yeah...He offered to take me out as thanks and um...That happened.” It was easy to see how flustered Ivy became at the mention of it, recalling all the little details and all the memories that came with it.

“Wow, I didn’t know you did stuff like that. You’ve never ridden a motorcycle but you can drive a jet ski. Amazing.” 

“Yeah, whatever mullethead. So what, you have a girlfriend or something?” The way Keith smiled as Lance asked that question didn’t look like a good sign.

“Nah, never had one. There is someone I’m interested in, though.” Before Lance or Ivy had a chance to ask him who, the waitress came back with their food, while Ivy moved out of the way.

“Um, anyways….It was nice to see you Lance. Do you mind if I call some time?”

“Of course, Ivy! I’ll call you tomorrow, sound good?” Ivy sheepishly smiled at Lance’s answer.

“Yes, that’s fine. See you later, Lance. Keith.” And with that, she flittered away, most likely going to her own table.

“Why didn’t you invite her to our booth?” Keith asked, digging his fork in his food hungrily.

“I dunno, I just figured she had somewhere else to be.”

“No way, I think she knows you come here often. Ivy likes you. She didn’t expect that I would be here with you.” Lance sighed, fumbling around with his pizza in thought.

“I doubt it. It’s been over a year since we broke it off. I didn’t even know she was back.”

“Back?”

“Ivy loves water sports. Everything. Jet skiing, water boarding, surfing, rafting, canoeing, you name it. You wouldn’t be able to guess that by looking at her though. She’s so shy and timid you’d think she would be afraid of things like that. She was offered to be in a surfing competition in Florida for a scholarship, but she had to move there for a couple years. That’s why we broke it off.”

“Oh.” Was all Keith had to say. Or rather, it was that he couldn’t think of anything to say at all. Why had he even asked in the first place? It wasn’t like it was any of his business, but Lance seemed to have no problem telling him.

“No worries dude, it’s cool. I understood why she had to go. I just don’t know why she’s back.” Keith ate a few bites of his food quietly, wondering about something peculiar. Why had Ivy assumed they were dating? No one usually assumes that if it’s two men, or two women. So why had she?

“Can I ask you something? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.” Lance blinked several times at Keith’s question, looking slightly worried at what kind of question Keith could possibly have.

“Uh, sure. Go for it.”

“Why did Ivy assume we were dating? I mean, doesn’t that seem kind of weird to you?”

“Oh, that.” Lance’s response and the blank look that was plastered on his face made Keith anxious. Why did he look so defeated? Or like he’d been caught in some illicit affair? No...It couldn’t be… “I came out as bisexual about two years ago. It was actually Ivy that helped me do it. Without her, I….I never would’ve been able to.” That wasn’t what Keith had been expecting at all.

“Geez, Lance. You almost gave me a heart attack with the way you looked.”

“Ah, sorry….I’m just not used to talking about it, even if it happened a long time ago.”

“No I get it. I’m glad you trust me enough to tell me.” Keith smiled at Lance as he said this, and Lance smiled back. It was an unusual comfortableness between the two, one they’ve never felt together before. But it was a good feeling, and if Keith felt like Lance trusted him, then one day Keith may be able to trust him too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so how do you guys like ivy? initially i didn't remember the girls name from my dream so i just came up with one when i was writing. i described her exactly like how i saw her in my dream tho. one day i may draw her when i can, along with the Lion's uniforms too!
> 
> next chapter will introduce yellow and green lion! be ready for that, my dudes. B)
> 
> (fun fact: casanova was bisexual ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) )


	3. Support

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [03:49 PM] From: Lance  
> sup keith. doing anything today? just got back from a friends house lol
> 
> Keith just stared at the screen, wondering how to respond. So that must have been why Lance hadn’t contacted him at all. He almost thought that Lance never cared about hanging out with him this whole time, but that couldn’t be it, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry for how long this took!!! tbh, i was homeless for over a month, and was staying at a friends house for a couple of weeks. i've got my own apartment now so no worries, everythings all good!
> 
> i don't really have a set schedule for updating anyways, but i want to update at least once or twice a week!

“Green, flank to my left! Red, Yellow, ambush from the rear! Blue, hide on the roof above us and provide backup to Red and Yellow!” The leader of the Lions commanded smoothly as all the squad lined up in order of instruction.

“On it!” All four replied firmly, Blue strafing up the building wall, locked on the targets spread out before them. Red zoomed down the alleyway, delivering a quivering punch to the random assailant, only to realize that they were robots disguised as humans.

“Wh….What the hell?!” Red became distressed as the robot he’d just punched looked barely damaged and continued to advance towards the team. Yellow was about to give Red a helping hand, but Green shouted above the ruckus.

“Wait! Attacking them like that is useless. If I can figure out the algorithm they use, I’ll be able to access their code and rewrite the cipher process so they will shut down.” Green pushed a button on the right forearm of their uniform, and a rounded panel popped open. Within mere seconds, they started typing swiftly and desperately as the rest of the team held off the robots.

“Whatever it is you’re doing, do it fast cause these things do _NOT_ like holding back!” Yellow pleaded as one of the robots attempted to blast him before he put up a forcefield to protect himself. Green concentrated on the flashing code, their eyes darting back and forth to analyze everything in a timely manner. You know, before their entire team got obliterated.

Blue jumped off from the roof, slamming his feet into a robot that was cornering Red, sending it off into the distance with an electric shock that seemed to short-circuit its systems. “Ye-heah! Now that’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout son!” Blue cheered enthusiastically, while Red angled his hand above his eyes to see just how far Blue sent that robot. It was unexpectedly far.

“Wow Blue, that was pretty damn impressive!” Red complimented, standing next to him grinning like he was proud of his sibling winning some sort of class sporting event. Blue smirked, taking a protective stance next to his teammate as the robots piled on.

“Hey, it’s what I do. I protect my team,” Blue responded, pretending to spin an imaginary revolver around his forefinger and sliding it into his belt. Even though Blue hadn’t said anything warning enough to make Red’s heart skip a beat, it had anyway, along with a small tinge of scarlet faintly dusting his cheeks. He hated it.

“Yeah, okay Indiana Jones. Go help Yellow, Black’s busy protecting Green. I’ve got things handled here.” He didn’t. But anything to get that stupid blue cat away from him. Because if he didn’t stay away, Red would do something he knew he’d regret for the rest of his life. And now was not the time. Blue just beamed brightly, saluted Red gracefully, and used an electric pulse to pole-vault himself over to Yellow.

“Hey, uh, Green? You got that code thing yet? Cause as much as it’s fun to beat the snot outta these guys, I’m sorta getting worn out here,” Yellow said, sweeping his arm in tandem with a poor sap’s car that they would eventually have to replace. The car pelted a line of robots, however they barely had a dent in them and proceeded to get right back up.

“Just hang on for a little bit longer, I almost got it,” Green surmised, still obediently hacking away at their control panel. Black was too busy to comment much, blasting energy pulses at any robots who came near, but his power was only enough to blow them back, not to completely stop them. Green’s plan was their only call to action that would save them from the disaster they’d got themselves stuck in.

Red used his speed to dodge the robots attacks so he wasn’t completely overwhelmed, but part of him still wanted Blue to be by his side. But he couldn’t. Thinking about it, there never would be a time. And even in a situation like this, where he should be focusing on his team and defeating the enemy, this is what he thought about. It made him feel nauseous. If he was going to be of any help to his team, he really needed to get his head out of the clouds and _focus_.

“Hey Red, pay attention!” Black warned above all the noise, snapping Red back into reality where he’d been completely cornered by 3 of the larger robots. Blue noticed instantly, twisting his body to send a volt of electricity towards the robots. Nothing happened. Panicking, Blue did the only other thing he could think of, and ran straight towards Red, shoving him out of the way of an oncoming attack. Instead, Blue got the brunt of the collision, crying out in agony as he could feel his body pummeled by metal fists.

“ _BLUE!_ ” Yellow cried out, utilizing his psionic connection to throw the robots as far as possible from the team. Not that doing so mattered, since mere seconds later Green shut down all the robots within the vicinity. Everything was quiet.

“I-I’m fine…” Blue breathed weakly, holding his side wincing as he began to stand up, with a horrified yet astounded Red in position just beside him.

“Blue you….You saved me.”

“Of course, buddy.”

“Your powers…” Red sadly mumbled, feeling guilty that he’d been so easily overtaken. It wasn’t Blue’s responsibility to bail him out every time he lost himself in his thoughts. In fact, it was his fault Blue had even gotten hurt in the first place. All his fault...

“Don’t worry, it looks a lot worse than it really is. Give me a couple nights rest and I’ll be good as new!” Blue smiled as he said this, though he seemed to immediately pass out afterwards. Red knew that Blue just didn’t want him to worry. He didn’t want any of them to worry. But Red always worried the most.

“Hey we’ll just get him down to HQ, let him rest in his room for a while, and he should be fine,” Black commented, hoisting Blue up with the help of Yellow.

“Bad news aside, I have good news as well.” Before anyone else could respond, Green continued. “It looks like the robots knew that we were going to patrol the area beforehand. They have a built in clock that sort of acts like an alarm, only instead of a loud noise buzzing, it leads them to where Team Voltron is. Where we are.”

“And how is that good news exactly?” Yellow asked, holding Blue steady as they walked out of the alleyway. “Wouldn’t that, oh I don’t know, _lead them straight to our base?_ ”

“Right you are! Only, before I deactivated them, I rerouted the code so that it could tell me where they came from instead, plus I blocked remote satellite access so essentially we’re off the grid.”

“So like, you know where _their_ HQ is then?”

“Hold on, let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Black interrupted, clear concern laced in his voice. “We can’t launch a full scale attack right now. Not with Blue like this. And even if he was in perfect condition, we need a plan.”

“Okay, but either way we _do_ need to take care of Blue right now. Who cares where their base is, it’s not like it’s going anywhere,” Red added, clearly upset. He was more upset at himself than the others for his foolish mistake, but he made it clear to the team what he believed they should pay more attention to.

“You’re right. Blue Lion comes first. We’ll figure out everything else when he’s healed. I’ll take care of him until then,” Black answered honestly. Red still didn’t look happy.

“Why can’t we help take care of him?” Red asked, even though he knew the response he’d get. He was just tired of all the secrets.

“You know why, Red. Knowing his identity will put him in danger.”

“But you know all of ours! Just because you’re our leader doesn’t mean you get to call all the shots. We’re supposed to be a team! You know, believe in one another? How are we supposed to do that if we don’t even know who our teammates are behind those masks? What if someone is a spy? Or can’t trust their team because they don’t know who their team even is!”

“Enough, Red. I get what you’re saying. Really, I do. Within the team, you should have the right to know who your teammates are. But right now, I need you to trust my decision on this. I’m not suggesting that we never know who our teammates are. Just….For now, I need you to trust that I know what I’m doing.” Red scoffed, kicking dusty pebbles under his feet.

“Yeah whatever. If anything, I’ll trust in Blue. And I’ll trust that he’ll recover.” Yellow and Green just exchanged looks, hardly knowing what to say. Something about the atmosphere seemed to tell them that there was more going on than they knew.

\- - -

It had been three days since Blue had gotten hurt, and Keith had been restless the entire time. Not to mention that Lance hadn’t called him at all either, so he had no one to lean on. Not that he could tell Lance about his double life anyway, but it felt like Lance had changed. Like he was more reliable, more mature. Keith figured Lance would be able to cheer him up, but he’d heard nothing from him.

Though, it could just be that he’d been hanging out with Ivy, since the two reconnected at the macaroni grill. He’d probably see a lot less of Lance after that. To Keith, they looked good together. He understood why they worked so well. Back in highschool, Lance would flirt with anything that moved. But he could tell that Lance had been gentle with Ivy. Due to her timid nature, the old Lance would’ve scared her off immediately.

Before Keith could ramble on in his head any longer, a loud text notification reverberated his room, pulling him out from his thoughts.

_[03:49 PM] From: Lance  
sup keith. doing anything today? just got back from a friends house lol_

Keith just stared at the screen, wondering how to respond. So that must have been why Lance hadn’t contacted him at all. He almost thought that Lance never cared about hanging out with him this whole time, but that couldn’t be it, right?

_[03:50 PM] To: Lance  
idk just at home i guess_

_[03:50 PM] From: Lance  
ok cool! u don’t have work today do u?_

_[03:51 PM] To: Lance  
nah. why?_

_[03:51 PM] From: Lance  
i gotta show u somethin dude. ur gonna love it._

_[03:51 PM] To: Lance_  
_....what is it_  


_[03:52 PM] From: Lance  
it’s a secret. c’mon let me come over and show u!!_

_[03:52 PM] To: Lance  
ugh oh my god fine_

_[03:52 PM] From: Lance  
:D_

Within about 10 minutes, Keith could hear fervent knocking on his apartment door. He should’ve never given Lance his address, but Lance had been so enthusiastic about whatever it is he wanted to show, Keith couldn’t find a way to say no.

Groggily walking towards the front door, Keith peered through the aperture, and sure enough, it was Lance. He could feel Keith on the other side of the door, but that didn’t stop Lance from continually knocking until Keith opened the door.

“Alright alright, geez you god damn hyperactive kid.” Lance swarmed inside without even being invited first, sitting on the couch excitedly. He was holding up a rectangular case, nearly jumping through the roof in eagerness. “Sure come right on in Lance, make yourself at home. Would you like some tea? A slice of pie? A fist in your face?”

“Keith oh my God! Look at this! My buddy Hunk, he’s like this crazy super cool geek guy, okay? And his mom is actually a super famous movie producer named Erika Garett, so Hunk always gets DVD releases super early! And guess what I got~!” Keith deadpanned to the DVD in Lance’s hands, unblinking as he processed what exactly got Lance so pumped up for a movie.

“Wait...Is that…” Before Keith could finish his strewed sentence, Lance butt in again.

“Yes! They finally have the Voltron movie on DVD! Can you believe that? I never had time to go see it in theaters, so I’m totally psyched to watch it now!” Keith stifled a laugh that rose up in his throat, he couldn’t believe how childlike Lance could be while still relatively being himself.

Keith could hide things really well when he wanted to, so it was only fitting that he would tease Lance a little bit about how silly he was being. Even if the truth was, he really wanted to watch the movie too.

“Well, since you made it all the way over here, I suppose I can humor you and watch the movie with you,” Keith decided, delivering a sly grin that made Lance fear all the unexpected sides of Keith he was sure to uncover.

“Suh-weet! Ya think the Lions in the movie will be anything like the real heroes in our city? It probably won’t be all that accurate since nobody really knows much about the Lions anyways. But of course, the public, including me, loves the Lions so who could blame the fans for wanting such a movie?” Keith rolled his eyes, sitting on the couch the opposite side of Lance, leaning back against the pillows.

“Who knows? But if they screw up Blue Lion, I’m gonna be pissed.” Lance smiled at that statement, as if to wholeheartedly agree. He stood up momentarily, following Keith’s sarcastic welcoming of ‘make yourself at home’ by putting the DVD in himself and turning on the TV.

“You’re always pissed,” Lance commented, earning a shove from his charcoal-haired rival, who broke out into a rapturous laugh. “Sh, sh! It’s starting!”

Even though Lance had been so enthusiastic about watching the movie, it wasn’t long before he and Keith had fallen asleep. It wasn’t that the movie was dull or boring, but the two of them had felt so comfortable in their surroundings, it hadn’t taken hardly any time before that comfortness turned into drowsiness. And when Lance woke up, he had fully realized a fact he didn’t dare admit since the first time they’d first laid eyes on each other: He was happy to have met Keith.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter will have interaction between lance and hunk! ivy will be appearing in more chapters as well, and soon we'll see the new member of the voltron lions!
> 
> also, there was a bit of foreshadowing in this chapter, i wonder if anyone will be able to figure it out? c:
> 
> lastly, i wrote the first part of the chapter to this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nbq6Ur103Q  
> and i think this song is gonna be the main theme of this fic! (in a way)


	4. Connections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What are buds for?” Hunk grinned, ruffling Lance’s hair out of endearment.
> 
> “Apparently they’re for being like sugar daddies, only instead you’re like….A sugar buddy.” Hunk burst out laughing at that comparison, plopping himself beside Lance on his bed.
> 
> “Or maybe, a wingman.”
> 
> “Huh? What do you mean? I didn’t ask for any help with Ivy…”
> 
> “I never said anything about Ivy.” Hunk said matter-of-factly with a cunning smirk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, we're back at it again with chapter 4! B)
> 
> i realized that i never posted my tumblr, so if you guys want to talk to me about the story or anything like klance, voltron, or just anything tbh, you can find me @spaceprincelance
> 
> <3
> 
> (p.s. this chapter is shorter than the rest, but i'm hoping chapter 5 will make up for it~)

It had been 6 days since Lance had crashed at Keith’s place, and every day he kept agonizing about it. He wanted to know why he kept thinking about it, but the more he thought the more anxious he became, his anxiety swirling together in a malignant storm. Truth be told, he wanted more than anything to tell Keith the truth. But no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn’t break his promise to Shiro.

He already felt guilty enough, knowing both Shiro and Keith’s identities as Black Lion and Red Lion. He was the only one in the whole team who knew their identities. Why had Shiro given him such a guilt-inducing responsibility? Because of this mission that Black Lion gave him, it wrote the pages of the future for him to become friends with Keith. Although it was that mission that sent their friendship in motion, Lance was glad for it. He had spent so much time hating the guy that he never really gave Keith a chance. And now that he had, he never wanted to mess up his new friendship.

It was Lance. Yes, he came off as overly zesty, flirtatious, and maybe a little simple-minded, but he cared for the world. He cared so much, it hurt. Yes, it ached Lance to his very core to think about it, but what if the time came where he could tell Keith? Would he hate him? Would he chastise him? Would he never speak to him again? The worry that grew beneath his bones made his body physically feel deep-seated discomfort.

Before Lance could drown himself in any more negative reflection, a warm hand was worriedly placed on Lance’s shoulder. He whipped around, noticing his friend Hunk clearly uneasy.

“Hey, you okay buddy?” Lance snapped out of his trance to recognize his friend, smiling briefly.

“Huh? Yeah sorry I was just thinking about Keith.” An expression Lance couldn’t quite read appeared on Hunk’s face, but he chose to dismiss it.

“Oh right, you guys recently reconnected, didn’t you? You brought him the Voltron movie! How did he like it?” Lance bit his lip, not wanting to disappoint Hunk by telling him they fell asleep.

“He liked it a lot! Thanks dude, for letting me borrow it.”

“What are buds for?” Hunk grinned, ruffling Lance’s hair out of endearment.

“Apparently they’re for being like sugar daddies, only instead you’re like….A sugar buddy.” Hunk burst out laughing at that comparison, plopping himself beside Lance on his bed.

“Or maybe, a wingman.”

“Huh? What do you mean? I didn’t ask for any help with Ivy…”

“I never said anything about Ivy.” Hunk said matter-of-factly with a cunning smirk.

“You are so...cryptic. Whatever dude, thanks for helping me out anyways.”

“So what, you wanna get back together with Ivy or somethin’?” Lance sighed lightly at that question, leaning back against the wall with a pillow sandwiched in between.

“I...dunno. We mutually broke up because we didn’t want to ruin our friendship. I just wanted her to pursue her dream, without me holding her back. I know that’s what I would’ve done. Like, I miss her, but...It just wouldn’t be a good idea.”

“Why do you say that?” It wasn’t like he could tell Hunk about his double life as a superhero, even if he was his best friend. He couldn’t tell Hunk, he couldn’t tell Keith, he couldn’t tell anyone. Except Shiro, because he already knew. He was the only one.

“Ivy….Doesn’t need someone like me by her side.”

“Well that’s uncharacteristic of you.”

“Shut up.” Lance said playfully, resting his hands behind his head. “Have you seen Ivy? She’s way too good for me, dude. Besides, she may be back, but I’d just get in the way of her professional life.”

“Fair enough.” Things were silent for awhile, the two just laying in the content quietness of Lance’s room. However, it wasn’t long before there was a knock on the door.

“Come in!” Lance called out, wondering who it could be. His sister Adrianna, was the only one other than the two of them in the house, and she was busy studying. But to Lance’s surprise, it was Ivy. It was a good thing they stopped talking about her a while ago, he didn’t want to have to explain his jumbled mess of emotions.

“Hi Lance!” She smiled happily, clutching a cotton white purse in her hands. “Hi Hunk!” She turned to him, offering a small wave, which Hunk politely returned. “I’m sorry for just dropping by, your sister let me in.”

“S’no problem,” Lance extended, gesturing forward his wrist. He sat upwards, repositioning the pillows so they sat comfortably in his lap. “What’s up?” Despite the reality that Ivy had shown up unexpectedly, the appearance of her instantly set Lance’s mind back to when they were dating. Back then she showed up nearly every day, and they had such fluid communication that it never felt weird to be around her. Looking at her now, things felt off. Not the awkward kind, but..Definitely something weird. It made Lance’s stomach furl in knots, but he ignored it.

“Well…” It was easy to notice the hesitation painting her face in apprehensiveness, her fingers fidgeting with the strap of her purse. “I understand if you say no, but I was w-wondering if maybe you and your friends would like to go camping with me and my family.”

“...Camping?” Hunk questioned, catching a brief glimpse towards Lance, who flashed him a quick look before his sole attention was on Ivy.

“Y-Yeah...My dad wants me to reconnect with everyone, but this camping trip will be a little different than normal. We’re taking a couple of my dad’s huge RVs and he said you guys could bring friends if you wanted. I’d love to see Pidge again! O-Oh! And you can bring Keith too, if you want, Lance.” She beamed, but you could plainly see she was still nervous.

“Keith? I doubt he’s that into family friendly bonding activities,” Lance started, yet as soon as he saw the disappointed expression Ivy wore, he changed the last part of his thought. “But I’ll try and ask him anyways.” Upon hearing the add-on of Lance’s sentence, Ivy’s cheerful smile returned and she nodded thoughtfully.

“Yay! I’d love to get to know Keith, I only know what you told me about him from when you went to Garrison High with him.” She paused for a moment, as though she had something to say but was pondering whether or not to actually say it. “Also, I already asked Shiro. He’s agreed to come, along with his girlfriend too~”

“Wait wait wait _wait_. Shiro has a girlfriend? Since when?” Lance interrupted, sliding closer to the edge of the bed. Ivy found out before him and Hunk? Was Shiro hiding the fact he had a girlfriend or something?

“I-I don’t know,” Ivy responded, honestly having no idea that the guys didn’t know about her. “I just assumed you guys already knew about her, since I just got back and all…” She was right. It’s not like she would have known to begin with.

“Oh well, Shiro will probably just introduce us to her later.” Lance leaned back against the wall again, more slumped as he was visibly upset at the fact that Shiro had a girlfriend he didn’t know about. It was such a silly reason to be upset, Lance knew, but he couldn’t help but feel envious. 

“A-Anyways, I hope you guys will all come. See you later Lance, Hunk,” Ivy gave a little wave as she shut the door behind her, leaving Lance and Hunk to exchange confused looks.

“Dude, I knew Shiro had it in him!” Hunk cheered, pumping a fist in the air. “Now all you gotta do is ask Keith to come with us.”

“H-Huh?! Why me???”

“Uh, because you’re the closest to him? You guys became best friends within like two weeks.”

“Whaaat? No…” Lance argued, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that they _had_ become pretty close lately. “Well....Maybe.” Hunk could tell by Lance’s melancholic expression that he agreed with him, but there seemed to be something else bothering him.

“Something on your mind?”

“Yeah, kind of. I just feel like Keith is hiding something. I want to ask him about it, but even if we are as close as you say, I don’t feel like it’d be my place.” Hunk thought about those words, a clear answer buzzing around in his head.

“Well, if you don’t think it’s your place, maybe you should make it your place.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, if you want him to open up to you, why don’t you try opening up to him first. Tell him a secret no one else knows.”

“But I tell all my secrets to you, Hunk.”

“Not all of them.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Look, you can at least tell him that you’re bi. That’s a pretty big deal, right?”

“He already knows about that.”

“Wow you must really like him.”

“No it’s not like that!” Ugh, Hunk wasn’t helping at all. He couldn’t tell him that the only reason he told Keith that secret was A.) Because of Ivy. And B.) Because he had a mission from Black Lion to get close to Keith. “When we were at the grill, Ivy thought Keith and I were on a date. Keith thought it was weird that she assumed that, so I told him the truth.”

“You mean to tell me you _weren’t_ on a date?”

“Oh my God. You know what, I’ll figure it out myself, thanks.”

“No no no, I’m sorry. Okay, I have another idea. When we’re out camping, go for a walk with him and maybe talk about your family a little bit. You can tell him about how you live with Ade, mention your parents, stuff like that.” Lance actually liked that idea. On occasion, Hunk helped him out quite a bit. And by on occasion that obviously meant about 97% of the time.

“Yeah, I like that. If I open up to him about _my _family, he might do the same with _his_. Thanks Hunk!”__

__“No prob!”_ _

__“Now, I just gotta get him to come with us.”_ _

\- - -

__“Pleeeeeease come with us on the camping trip! Just please come with it’s going to be a disaster if you don’t! Please oh please oh my God please!!” Lance was pleading profusely, his knees on the ground, hands clasped together and shaking them vehemently._ _

__“Dude, I already said I’d go.” Blinking a few times in disbelief, Lance immediately stood up in a proper stance, brushing himself off._ _

__“I know.” Keith just raised an eyebrow in concern, his arms crossed with doubt._ _

__“Lance, why would it even be a disaster?”_ _

__“Because I need someone to hang out with me besides Ivy! It’s just gonna be awkward as hell if it’s just us hanging out. Shiro has a girlfriend, Pidge and Hunk are just gonna go off bug collecting or some shit, so it’d just be me and Ivy. No way man, _no way_.” Keith just sighed at Lance’s explanation, as if he could predict an answer like that._ _

__“Well I _am_ going. It sounds like fun, I’ve never been camping before.” There it was again. That distressing pit that bore into the bottom of Lance’s stomach. It seemed like Keith didn’t have any sort of nuclear childhood, and the fact that he sounded so casual about it worried Lance. Had Keith been isolated by his parents? He wondered if that was the case, it felt like Keith was such a lone wolf but didn’t even realize that he was one. It pained Lance’s heart to think about._ _

__“You’re gonna love it! Ivy’s dad is an astronomer, so he’s always bringing his fancy lab equipment in the RVs. He has this huge telescope that he sets out so everyone can take a turn looking at the stars pretty close. It’s amazing!”_ _

__It took only a moment, a fraction of a second, a fleeting moment, for Keith to register how much Lance loved space. He watched him talk, detailing how rapid his arms moved in tune to his chatter, and how his eyes lit up like the very stars he expressed. It was a new side to Lance that Keith had never seen before. He was happy that he found something in common with Lance, because he too, loved space._ _

__“It sounds fun, I’m definitely in,” Keith smiled, holding out his fist in anticipation. Lance got the hint, pounding his own fist together with Keith’s as some sort of ‘bro covenant’._ _

__“Good, cause if you tried to get out of it I would’ve dragged you there myself,” Lance chuckled, small dimples forming at the sides of his cheeks._ _

__“I’d like to see you try.”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hunk: i'm like dropping hints that lance likes keith  
> hunk: lance likes keith
> 
> i'm rly excited for chapter 5 because it's going to be longer than the rest of the chapters so far, but unfortunately that also means it's going to take longer. no worries tho, i'll be trying my best to finish it soon as i can!


	5. Reconciliation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Are you doing that on purpose?” Lance blinked repeatedly, rubbing the bottom of his jacket in slight nervousness. He had no idea what Keith was talking about.
> 
> “Doing what on purpose?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what up everyone i swear i'm not dead i just had a lot of personal stuff going on. still do, kinda. but in honor of season 2, i decided to finish this up and finally post it! B)
> 
> there's a lot of breaks though because i knew if i never put in those breaks, i'd _never_ finish this chapter lmao

The salty summer air washed over Lance’s skin as he dashed toward the ocean blue water, hopping aboard his brand new Karasaki Ultra 500 Jet Ski, a graduation present from his mother. It was sleek, dark blue and black, with comfort-fitting handles and performance-shaped seating.

There were five other racers besides him; Irvin Lacroe, Danny Henderson, Ivy Glasgow, Mark Larson, and Rachel Lemar. He eyed the others carefully, surveying their grip on the handles, their position on the jet ski, their levels of concentration, everything. If he didn’t focus, he wouldn’t win this race. And if he didn’t win this race, he would never forgive himself. It was true that Lance loved watersports, they were a part of his very being. But if he could use his talent with watersports to save his sister, he would do anything within his power.

Readying her megaphone, the moderator started the countdown. Lance tightly gripped the handles of his vehicle, total concentration on his goal ahead, sweat already dripping in anxious anticipation. He would win this race. He would get the prize money. 

He had to.

The horn blared loudly, and that was their cue to bolt forward. Luckily, Lance pulled ahead first, surveying Danny who was right beside him, catching up close. He swerved at an angle, causing Danny to back off behind him. Ivy and Rachel weren’t too far back, the two battling each other for third place. Irvin was set way after, trailing the rest of the racers in pursuit. Ivy veered away from Rachel, giving herself the needed speed boost to launch herself ahead right behind Danny.

Lance was nervous. He’d never seen other racers this good before, but losing here was not an option. Danny was right in front of him now, the ocean spray soaking his face from the jet ski bolting across, matting his hair in curls that made his head feel heavy. No, he couldn’t falter now. Speeding up slightly, Lance dodged his jet ski around a large protruding rock, only to see that he had become neck and neck with Ivy. He couldn’t see Danny anywhere.

Soon enough, the goal was in sight. It was so close, he could almost feel the excitement of a win bursting through his veins. He was keeping in front of Ivy, watching her at the peripherals of his eyes, ready to dash right past that finish line and claim his prize.

But his win never came.

Before Lance even had a chance to react, he could feel his body being hurled off his jet ski right into the ocean, where he immediately felt his body smash against a large rock that had marginally been below the water's level. The last thing Lance saw before he completely blacked out was the last of the racers pulling into the finish line.

“Lance! Hey Lance!!! _Please wake up!_ ” He could faintly hear a girl frantically call out his name. It took a few moments, but he finally opened his eyes, albeit slowly, and for a second he thought he had died and went to heaven. There was a beautiful brown haired girl hovering over him, her gentle eyes full of panic and terror. It was then Lance registered that this girl must have saved his life after his wipe-out off the jet ski.

“Wow, hello there.” Lance responded finally, delivering a goofy grin that was interrupted by him coughing up saltwater.

“You’re okay!” The girl cheered happily, the dread fading off her immediately. “I saw you fall off your jet ski...I dove in to save you since you hadn’t come up.” Upon closer inspection, Lance could see that it was Ivy Glasgow that had saved him. He couldn’t believe that something stupid like a rock incapacitated him, forcing him to forfeit the tournament. The only good thing to come out of this was that he was saved by the cutest girl he had ever seen.

“Heh, I almost believed that an angel was sent to guide me to heaven. Guess I’m still alive.” Lance has a sly smirk adorned on his face, sitting up as he suddenly felt the pain rush to his head, straining a little as he brought his hand to rub his temple. Ivy flushed, discordant from the several sets of eyes that hounded over them. A lifeguard had rushed over, but Lance just waved him off as he felt fine aside from the thrashing headache.

In the end, he couldn’t save his sister after all.

“I’m Ivy. Though, you probably already knew that huh? Um…” She paused, twirling her fingers in her hair nervously. “I know that if you hadn’t ran over that rock, you would’ve won.” Ivy smiled sheepishly, feeling slightly more confident as the wandering eyes began to walk away.

“Yeah, maybe. Hey thanks for saving me, I might’ve died out there if you hadn’t seen me.” Ivy blinked repeatedly, obvious bashfulness appearing on her face.

“Oh...Of course! No cash prize is ever worth a human life. The other racers, they….they didn’t even stop. I felt sick to my stomach when I saw them just zoom by when I turned around to get you. It’s like...they didn’t even care as long as they won the race.” Lance smiled, happy that it was Ivy who had stopped to help him. He might’ve been happy with anyone else, but there was something about this girl that Lance was intrigued by.

“Hey, how about as a reward for saving my life, I take you out to dinner? O-Or just coffee. Or ice cream. Or s-something.” Ivy giggled at his offer, glancing back and forth between the ocean blue, and Lance. Usually he was a lot more forthcoming with his advances, but he couldn’t keep his cool in front of this alluring girl for whatever reason.

“All of those sound great. I’m looking forward to it.” Ivy smiled so brilliantly and so animatedly, Lance was lost on words as he felt his breath snag in his lungs. Never in his earnest years would he have ever believed a girl like this would actually say yes to him. I mean sure, he flirted constantly with girls like it was no big deal, but for some reason, Ivy _did_ feel like a big deal.

\- - -

“You know, you’re bound to get wrinkles if you frown like that.” Lance teased, pointing a slightly judgmental finger towards Keith’s face.

“Shut up, I’m trying to concentrate.” Keith fired back, very carefully trying to pull out a blue Jenga piece from the multi-colored tower. Ivy sat next to him, watching expectantly as he was pulling out a dangerous tile.

“You can do it Keith!” Ivy whisper-cheered, giving him a happy smile. Keith awkwardly smiled back, but his frowned quickly turned back as the tower wobbled slightly. He let go of the piece, waiting for the tower to be still. After a few moments, he gently grabbed the piece again, and slowly pulled it out, finally taking a breath as the tower remained standing.

“Even in a game like this, there’s no way I’d lose to Lance.”

“Hey! Why do you say that like you’d rather _die_ than lose to me?” Keith just looked at Lance dead in the eyes, not saying a word. Lance was slightly terrified.

“Good job Keith, I nearly thought Lance was gonna win that one.” Hunk chimed in, Pidge saddled at his side with a mischievous grin on her face that said something along the lines of ‘I have a plan to make Lance have the most embarrassing loss he’ll ever experience.’

“Well Keith hasn’t won yet either, it’s my turn next and then Allura’s.” Lance’s eyes followed Shiro’s direction, pinned on his girlfriend that sat elegantly next to him. It was nearly surreal, seeing this woman next to Shiro.

Beautiful bronzed skin, gorgeous silver hair, intense cerulean eyes the quality of sapphires. Her very presence seemed ethereal, but it wasn’t long before Allura shot him a dismissive glare to which Lance recoiled disconcertedly. He hadn’t meant to stare at her, but meeting another attractive person when he was surrounded by them had been a little too much for Lance.

“Shiro, hon, if you take this one here, there should be enough balance to keep the tower standing.” Allura suggested, though the look on her face suggested that she too, was planning something.

“Alright. The yellow one it is.” Shiro calmly said, easily taking out another block off the tower. Keith could have taken that one just as easily, but he made a habit of only taking out the blue pieces, which he hoped no one had noticed.

Lance had noticed.

“I’ll take this one!” Allura piped happily, pulling out a purple brick just as easily as Shiro did. Next turn was Hunk’s, then Ivy’s.

“Okay guys I got this.” Hunk said confidently, jokingly reaching for one of the top bricks. When everyone stared him down, he laughed and carefully took out a green brick near the middle. “Done, and _done_.”

“My turn~!” Ivy clapped her hands together, surveying the tower as to choose her piece cautiously. She found a red one at the side that would be slightly risky, but decided to go for it. Dragging the piece delicately, Ivy just about had the piece out before Lance’s anxiousness bounced his leg up under the table and the whole tower came toppling down.

“LANCE!” Pidge complained as mostly everyone else groaned in unison, while Lance held his leg down as if that would somehow reverse the tower being wrecked.

“S-Sorry! It was an accident!” He apologized honestly, though from the looks on everyone’s faces, no one seemed to believe him.

“Let’s just call this an ‘Everyone won but Lance’ victory.” Pidge said annoyedly, leaving the table to go do her own thing. The rest of the team followed suit, though Lance and Ivy were left at the table by themselves. It wasn’t long before Lance felt a little bit awkward, especially after ruining the game for Ivy.

“Don’t worry Lance, I know you didn’t do it on purpose.” Ivy smiled sympathetically, placing a soothing hand on Lance’s arm. Her shoulders were arched delicately, as though she was a dainty fairy sitting timidly on a rose. Lance was just about to move away out of embarrassment, before he noticed Ivy wearing the pearl necklace that he had given her on their anniversary two years ago.

“I didn’t know you still had that thing around.” He gestured feebly, feeling dread under his skin at how blunt he sounded.

“Oh…” Ivy started, a stunned look appearing on her face. It was obvious she hadn’t expected Lance to notice, but he noticed a lot of things. “Yeah, no matter what happened between us Lance, you’re still important to me. But I should probably clarify...I know that what we had was in the past, and it will stay there. I have no intentions of...trying to ruin things.”

“Huh?” Was all that Lance could muster, confusion setting in so immediate that he found it hard to concentrate on his expressions.

“Ah, it’s nothing!” Ivy waved off her words casually, but Lance knew better. Nevertheless, she wouldn’t tell him what she meant, she was too diffident for that.

“Well, either way, I’m still glad you have it.” He grinned instead, that goofy smirk emanating such a ‘Lance’ ambiance.

“Me too.” She beamed, fidgeting with the chain around her neck until she reached the pearl, and clutched it in her hand. “Let’s go check on Hunk, I heard that he was making dinner tonight!”

“Oh hell yeah, Hunk makes the best food, no doubt about it! After today you’re gonna want his food every day, trust me.”

It didn’t take long for the smell of food to waft throughout the campsite, dragging forward its hungry residents in anticipation. Lance was already attached to Hunk’s side, ready to devour the entire table.

\- - -

After dinner, things had calmed down immensely. Lance sat by the dimly lit fire, watching it burn up into the night sky, clutching his guitar between his fingers in deep thought. He lightly strummed the strings, creating a melodious tune that sang so briskly, but vibrant. Everyone else had gone to the river to take a night dip, but Lance remained at the fire. Usually, he would jump at the chance to go in the water. It was like his home, it made him feel safe, unattached, free. But something…Did not feel right.

A low wind brushed against his skin, Lance looking down at his guitar one final time before he began playing softly.

_“You always call me full of regret  
You want me to save you again_

_All these years, the days go by_  
_I've seen you fall a million times_  
_Everybody makes mistakes…”_

Closing his eyes, Lance’s playing picked up rhythm, humming to himself, not being his eyes shot open when he heard a familiar voice since the second part.

_“It feels so hard to watch you hurt_  
_From the pain, a lesson learned_  
_This is how you find your way”_

“K-Keith! Geez, I didn’t even know you were here.” Lance sputtered, hands spazzing across his guitar strings.

“Sorry.” Keith offered quietly, sitting on the log adjacent to Lance. “I heard you singing, I didn’t even know that you listened to music like that.”

“Well, yeah. I was just practicing before everybody got back. Why aren’t you at the lake?” The question shied away Keith’s glance, staring at the pattern of his shoes, unsure of what else to take focus on.

“Nothing, really. I just wanted to be by myself and think.” This felt like the perfect opportunity to get closer to Keith; Black Lion needed him and so did Keith. Even if it was a ‘job’, he really did care about Keith. At least, more than he used to.

“Hey, I’m here to listen if you need someone to talk to.” The honest thoughtfulness caught Keith off-guard, not because he didn’t think Lance was capable of asking, but that he sounded sincere.

“Oh. Umm…” Keith paused, debating in his mind whether or not to tell Lance the truth. But the thing was, no matter how much he wanted to tell him, or tell anyone for that matter, he couldn’t. There was nothing he could say. Not explicitly, anyway. “It’s nothing major. Just some stuff going on with my foster family.”

“Okay. If you’re uncomfortable with telling me, I understand. I hope whatever’s going on gets better.” Keith was astonished. Was this really Lance? Sure they were starting to get along better, but he sounded very gentle and reassuring. If he didn’t know any better…

“Yeah. Thanks Lance.” He delivered a warm hearted smile, something that Lance wasn’t fully prepared to deal with, and just smiled back awkwardly instead, grasping the neck of his guitar in his hand.

“Hey guys, watcha talkin’ about?” A bulky figure shuffled up towards them, revealing themself to be Hunk.

“Oh hey dude. We were just singing campfire songs.” Lance was kind of thankful Hunk came when he did, because he wasn’t really sure what he was going to say to Keith after that somewhat awkward spiel.

“Oh nice! Last year you didn’t come with Pidge and I so it’ll be awesome to hear you play again!” Hunk’s eyes sparkled as he said this, to which Lance chuckled and steadied the guitar on his lap.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I used to always spend my time with Ivy.”

“No worries man, I’m just glad you’re here now. The others should be coming back soon.”

“Alright, I’ll just play something until they get here.” Lance played with several different tunes on his guitar, figuring out whether to sing a song in Spanish or English. That was, until he heard Keith humming a familiar 10-year old tune. Grinning sheepishly, he strummed his guitar to the correct chords, when Keith squinted towards Lance, guessing whether or not he was going to play the song. He was.

_“I just want you close_  
_Where you can stay forever_  
_You can be sure_  
_That it will only get better”_

Feigning a brief look, Lance could testify to the soft look that graced upon Keith’s features, as if he was singing about someone he was truly in love with. Was there really such a person in Keith’s life? He hadn’t really thought about it before, but could Lance be right? There was no way Keith could sing with that kind of raw emotion and not be singing about someone.

He wasn’t wrong about his gut instinct, he knew, but Lance couldn’t quite figure out why he wanted to know whether or not Keith was singing about someone special. It was probably because he wanted Keith to confide in him, so they he could help him. After all, he had felt himself become so close to that dumb mullethead, he couldn’t imagine being like enemies ever again. Without another invasive worry, Keith began to sing as Lance continued the melodious song.

_“You and me together_  
_Through the days and nights_  
_I don't worry 'cause_  
_Everything's gonna be alright_  
_People keep talking they can say what they like_  
_But all I know is everything's gonna be alright”_

Though Lance continued his playing, he couldn’t help but be mesmerized as Keith sang, but he wasn’t the only one. Hunk was staring, but Keith didn’t notice as he had his eyes closed as he sweetly bellowed out the lovely tune. Lance glanced towards Hunk, who steered his head to his best friend, jaw completely open and eyes wide. He merely responded in the same manner, unable to give a proper expression.

_“No one, no one, no one_  
_Can get in the way of what I'm feeling_  
_No one, no one, no one_  
_Can get in the way of what I feel for you, you, you_  
_Can get in the way of what I feel for you”_

Picking up his performing, Lance’s body swayed and bobbed with the flow of music, his grin stretching wide, eyes growing bright with joy. Hunk joined in by clapping his hands in tune with the music, and by then everyone was smiling. 

_“When the rain is pouring down_  
_And my heart is hurting_  
_You will always be around_  
_This I know for certain”_

Keith sang wonderfully, and the three were so engrossed in the song, none of them noticed the clapping of an audience when they had finally finished the song.

“Brava, brava you three!” Allura clapped enthusiastically, her silver hair swooshing back in forth in sync with her hips. Shiro, Pidge, Ivy, and Mr. Glasgow also clapped joyously, causing Lance’s face to turn an unexpected shade of pink.

It felt a little strange, getting earnestly praised like this, but it wasn’t just him. Hunk and Keith were just as good performers, they almost felt like a band. Just the thought made him smirk, they would make an amazing band. Pidge and Shiro would be fantastic additions too, but he doubted they’d be up for that.

“Since we’re all here now, how about we do some group sessions?” Shiro suggested, sitting in a double lawn chair opposite of Lance in front of the fire.

“I’m not really a singer, but maybe just this once.” Pidge plopped herself next to Hunk, smiling as the fire reflected fiercely against her metal-framed spectacles.

“Sounds good to me!” Chimed in Hunk, already eager to start the next round of songs.

\- - -

Several hours later, things had _truly_ died down, as it took absolutely zero time for Lance to notice Keith wandered off, down an alcove path, secluded up the mountain covered in trees. The others were talking about kinds of music Lance had never even heard of, so he decided to sneak off to look for his brooding friend down the mysterious trail.

The path was a slight high-rise, leading around a small mountain, to which he found Keith laying against the summer grass, staring intently at the midnight sea of stars. As to not startle him, Lance made his presence known from the crackle of the rocks under his shoes, Keith looking up briefly to acknowledge him before turning his attention back to the sky.

“I saw you leaving suddenly, just wanted to make sure you okay.” Keith close his eyes for a moment, sucking in his breath as he forced his body to sit up.

“Are you doing that on purpose?” Lance blinked repeatedly, rubbing the bottom of his jacket in slight nervousness. He had no idea what Keith was talking about.

“Doing what on purpose?”

“I feel like you’re trying too hard to get close to me. Are you trying to get something from me?” What? How could he ask something like that? Sure, his leader had asked him to get close to Keith, but at the same time he didn’t think that constituted as some ulterior motive. Did it?

“Is it wrong of me to try?” A twinge of guilt flashed across Keith’s face, but it was gone within an instant before Lance could even register what it meant.

“N...No. I just mean, Lance, we pretty much hated each other in highschool. And then all of a sudden you care about how I feel? What could have possibly changed between highschool and when you ‘saw me’ at my job to make you want to be friends with me?” Lance was speechless. He didn’t have a counter argument. Keith wasn’t wrong, though. Shiro had told him to make nice with Keith, but Lance found that he really did want to be friends with him.

Everyone has multiple sides to their personality, it just takes the right person to see all the sides that make someone who they are. Lance wanted to see all of those sides, everything that made Keith, Keith. He wanted to really give him a chance, he wanted to be better than he was before. But how would he be able to explain to Keith why? He couldn’t, no matter how much he wanted to. There was nothing he could say.

“I made a mistake.” Lance didn’t bother to look at the way Keith was staring at him, he knew well enough what kind of face he was making. Shoving his hands in his pockets, Lance looked up to the sky, somehow finding himself amongst the silver glow of the moon, his mind cast about the glittering stars.

It was quiet, neither Lance nor Keith said anything more, the lull of night creatures making the only sound in the area, like a moonlit symphony littering the air for a dramatic sequence. You could tell that both of them wanted to speak their thoughts, but neither dared to voice them. A looming anxiety could be felt in the atmosphere, clashing with the gentle ambiance of the night. Until, someone did speak.

“I was jealous.” Lance began, bravely sitting next to his despondent friend. “I tried so hard to be recognized, to be someone worthy enough to be praised. All I wanted was for someone to care. But whatever I accomplished, you had to ruin it by being so much better than I was. At everything. I hated you for that.”

“Lanc-”

“I tried really hard. I had to work my ass off to get good grades. My parents couldn’t afford the tuition anymore so I was in danger of being kicked out. I talked to the principal and she told me that if I maintained my grades, she’d let me stay on ‘scholarship’. I didn’t want to burden my parents anymore, so I left to go live with my sister Adrianna.”

Lance looked like he wanted to say more, but it was as if the words were constricting in his throat, threatening to strangle him if he said anything else. Every time he thought about how he messed up the competition last year, the more he felt a burning hatred soak beneath his frenzied veins. Usually, he was calm, cool, and resilient. But with his family, there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for them.

“My little sister, Emilia, was sick. She had something called ‘Reye Syndrome’. It’s basically a disease that attacks the immune system after a viral infection, but it’s pretty rare. Her twin brother, Emilio, didn’t know that she shouldn’t take too much aspirin. At least, that’s what we think caused it. She was in the ICU for weeks. We couldn’t afford her treatment. I entered a jet ski competition for the prize money so we could help her. I ended up screwing over myself, wiping out completely. That’s how I met Ivy. She….she’s the one who gave me the money to save my sister.”

“I...I’m sorry. I should’ve never questioned your motives. I don’t even know what to say about all of this. I’m just...sorry. I never knew about any of that.” Keith refused to look at Lance, not after what he had said before.

“No, of course not. I never told anybody, not even Hunk. And he’s my best friend. He just knows that I left because my parents couldn’t afford to keep me in school.” Lance breathed in deeply, as though he let in a peaceful aura, expelling everything else that was harmful.

“That was a lot of pent up emotions. Are you okay?” Though his story was bleak, Lance found a smile underneath his negative wave of emotions.

“Yeah. I’m fine. Emi is just fine. After Ivy’s dad paid for the treatment, I felt relieved. But sad that I couldn’t do anything myself. I lost, that day. I thought that signified that I wasn’t meant to do anything worthwhile. That I didn’t have the capacity to do good.”

“T-That’s not true! There’s so many qualities that make you who you are. You’re amazing at playing guitar, you make dumb jokes but they’re actually funny, you’re smart, and you’ve got great charisma. You do a lot of good, Lance.” It was strange. Did someone set a pause button on life? Because he could swear that the wind stopped in its tracks, all sound and smell completely absent, and that time stood still. If he could wager on it, he’d give witness to the fact that his heart stopped working for just a moment, the beating starting anew as it slammed against his rib cage.

“I...Geez.” Was all he could muster, his face flaring up immediately like it was the Fourth of July. “T-Thanks, Keith.” Lance plopped his body in the grass, staring up once again at the sparkling stars that twinkled above. Keith laid next to him, only muttering a small ‘Of course’ before being completely silent.

Keith’s dark eyes were shining brilliantly under the stars, and that was a sight that Lance never wanted to forget, not as long as he lived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> inspiration for this chapter goes to THIS SONG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXtVWZ9vIA4  
> in fact, a lot of story and dialogue will revolve around this theme, just remember that!
> 
> and of course, the infamous cover of steven yeun singing no one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mHJkLuZD64


	6. Insecurities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Dude, you hated him…” Hunk said matter-of-factly, folding the top panels of the cutlery box over each other to seal it tight.
> 
> “Okay, yeah, but that was back when I was a little shit. Things are different now.”
> 
> “Alright man, whatever ripens your mangoes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so as you may or may not know, this entire series is written exactly like a dream i had LAST YEAR, as in BEFORE SEASON 2. however, i did put a couple post season 2 jokes in there to be an ass lmao. and BECAUSE it's a dream, there's probably gonna be inconsistencies with my writing and i'm sorry for that rip.
> 
> i would also like to clarify something with green lion/pidge. pidge is a girl! but in her green lion uniform, she uses they/them as to not be conspicuous to who she is under the mask. shiro is the only one who knows.

Yesterday had seemed so surreal. It had been a night of emotions and confessions that neither boy had been prepared to deal with. Even in the aftermath things seemed a little awkward, but nobody else had seemed to notice.

 

Right now, Shiro had asked to talk to Lance alone. And though everyone made fun of him thinking he must have been in trouble, Lance knew better. That guilt reared its head, the knowledge of Shiro being Black Lion at the back of his mind. This had something to do with their mission, he just knew it.

 

“Sorry to grab you so early in the morning, but I needed to talk to you.” Lance just shrugged, but Shiro’s face remained serious.

 

“If this is about my injuries, I’m fine. I have accelerated healing, remember?” He smiled despite the unamused expression Shiro was wearing.

 

“I know. But that’s not going to work for you every single time, Lance. One of these times there might be an injury you can’t recover from. You need to be more careful.” Lance’s smile disappeared. He hated when Shiro scolded him, even if it was something like this. It wasn’t like he didn’t  _ know _ to be careful. All he cared about was keeping his team safe.

 

“I did what I had to do, and I’d do it again. I recover faster than anyone else on our team. Sure, I can’t--...Always control my powers…” He paused, the crack in his voice apparent from his last sentence. “But I’m going to protect my team, Shiro.” Tilting an eyebrow in question, Shiro studied Lance as if he was some kind of specimen in a lab.

 

“You’re...different, Lance. Strangely, you seem more vigilant. Did something happen?”

 

“What? No, you’re crazy. I’m the same as ever. I like cute girls, video games, and sailing the coast of Varadero beach back in Cuba. Where there is also cute girls.” Shiro just stared at him, face clearly unmoved.

 

“Alright, if you say so.” He seemed to easily agree, but Lance wasn’t gonna complain. Not like he had anything on his mind at all. “Anyways, I called you out here for a reason, aside from inquiring about your condition.”

 

“Is this about the Galra HQ? Because if it is, shouldn’t we leave and assemble the team? Though I don’t really know how we’d explain that, especially when we need Keith too.”

 

“Yes, it is actually. Now, I know that talking about it now isn’t ideal, but you’re the only one I can talk to about this at the moment.” Though Shiro tried to make it clear that he’d rather talk to the rest of the team, Lance knew he didn’t mean anything by it. Shiro thought he was important to the team just as much as anyone else. Right?

 

“Alrighty, what’s the plan then?” Lance flicked a hand up as he gestured with his words, his enthusiasm reigning entirely noticable.

 

“First of all, I have something to tell you and I need you to not freak out. Can you do that?” Of course, appalled by the question, Lance rolled his eyes in response.

 

“What am I, a child? Yes Shiro, whatever you got lay it on me. I’m a big boy.” Shiro had  _ no _ right to talk to him like he was a cretin, especially when he was only six years old!

 

“Okay. Well, I sort of enlisted some...help.”

 

“Some...help.” Lance repeated, completely deadpanned.

 

“Yes. There’s someone going to join our team as a new Lion.” He was completely serious. There was absolutely no trace of lightheartedness on Shiro’s face. None. Nothing whatsoever. Who the hell would actually be able to join their team? Was there another superhero he didn’t know about? Where there more? There was so many questions, but none that Lance has the answer to.

 

“By someone, does that mean they have superpowers?” Lance inquired, the suspicion in his voice a higher octave than usual.

 

“Yes,  _ she _ does. She’ll be joining us as the Silver Lion. With her, we’ll be able to charge right into the Galra HQ. We’ll talk more about this later.” Lance looked everywhere but at Shiro. The leaves ruffling in the trees, the matted down grass to his left and to his right, the lake set out on the horizon, the birds digging into the ground in the distance. It was all quick glances, but enough for him to process exactly what Shiro was talking about.

 

“Wait wait wait a minute,” Lance began, holding both his hands in front of him in the form of an agitated gesture, “So, you bring me out here all like ‘Ahhh, Lance, I hope you’re okay!!’ But then you just go ‘Oh yeah by the way we’re getting a new team member and we’re going straight into the evil villain's lair and yeah that’s it!’ without telling me more than that?”

 

“Lance it’s just no-”

 

“It’s not what, Shiro? Safe? Appropriate? Smart to tell me alone? Is there really something that can’t be said to me that you can say in front of everyone else?” Lance wasn’t sure where this sudden irritability came from, but one thing he  _ was _ sure of was that Shiro was hiding something from him. Something that wasn’t among all the other million and one things that he was hiding already.

 

“Do you have any idea what kind of position you’ve put me in, Shiro? You give me this job of ‘pretending’ to be friends with Keith just to get information out of him, and then you  _ still _ keep secrets from me?”

 

Lance strained to keep his voice steady, he didn’t want to yell in case anyone else was nearby. That, and he was a little afraid of what Shiro’s reaction would be if he  _ did  _ yell at him.

 

“And the worst part of this is, all these years you wanted me to reconcile with Keith, and I did!  _ I did, _ and it’s killing me that I can’t tell him the truth! I actually  _ like _ Keith, Shiro! He’s been my partner as Red Lion this whole time, and he trusts me. And I’m keeping secrets from him! But apparently, you have no issue with that, do you?”

 

Anger set fast beneath Lance’s skin, his level-headedness the only thing keeping him from bursting into flames. Usually, it was Keith that was the impulsive one. The rash one,  _ the one who acted first without thinking _ . Lately, Keith had changed. He’s been a lot more calm, forgiving, and even  _ happy _ . No matter what, Lance wanted to protect that new sensitivity, more than anything.

 

Shiro took in a deep, stable breath, his arms crossed diligently as a permanent frown adorned his face.

 

“Alright, Lance. I hear you,” Shiro paused, looking Lance in the eyes as he began speaking again. “The truth is, Allura is not really….My girlfriend.” Lance’s head jolted back in shock, his eyes blinking repeatedly. “She’s going to be the Silver Lion. I don’t know how she got her powers, she’s-- different from us. Allura and I have known each other for years, but we were just co-workers. It wasn’t until I saw her accidentally crush a dumbbell in her hands without a beat and she saw me. And yes, I mean the  _ whole _ dumbbell. I foolishly let my guard down and she found out who I was.” There was obviously more to this story, but Shiro remained silent for a good few moments.

 

“Allura….Has powers?” Was all that Lance could think of to ask, his hands clammy as the anxiety from his outburst began to set in. Why wasn’t Shiro saying anything about that? Sure he was telling him the truth, but that ought to be more scary than being scolded again like usual.

 

“Yes, she does. She’s the most powerful of us, as far as I know. She showed me what she’s capable of. She can crush things easily within her grasp, she can lift things ten times her size, she can shapeshift into anything roughly her same form, and she can even maneuver through physical objects. Having her on our side as an ally is something we need now more than anything, especially with the Galra sending attack bots after us that can track our location.”

 

This was so much information, that Lance couldn’t quite keep a single emotion tied to his face. Every time Shiro said something new, it would change again, though the emotions he felt varied. But one big feeling tied all the rest together, and that was  _ relief _ . Having someone like Allura on their side should be more than enough to wipe out the Galra for good.

“So, Silver Lion. Got it.” Was all that he could muster, restlessness setting in his bones as his heart felt like it was beating a million miles per second. Lance was almost choked up, his feeling of inadequacy erupting beneath his veins. The only reason why Shiro said anything at all was because he admonished him for doing his job. Shiro was the leader. Of course that meant he had to make all the decisions, including the tough ones, such as keeping secrets for the good of everyone else.

 

“Lance,” Shiro said quietly, almost in a sad voice, “I know that I keep asking more of you than I have any right to. The burden I placed on you isn’t fair, and I want you to know that I wouldn’t have asked you if I thought I had any other way. I want to explain why, but it’s just too dangerous right now. Besides, keeping a bond with your teammates is important. It matters not whose face is beyond that mask, because they are still the same person inside.”

 

Staring almost vacantly, Lance continued listening to Shiro’s explanation, but still Lance felt furious with him. Was he wrong to feel this way? Everyone much prefered the goofy, girl-flirting, idiot side of him, so why continue being something that no one else likes, or even wants?

 

“I know how important Keith became to you in such a short time. That’s because the time you spent with him as Blue Lion is what truly connected the two of you. And  _ that’s _ why it needed to be you, Lance. In time, he will connect the pieces and decide for himself what it means to have a team. He needs to figure out that you’re Blue Lion on his own. That’s why you can’t tell him.”

 

Those words etched into Lance’s skin like prose, repeating themselves as he recalled every line in his memory.  _ Shiro wants Keith to figure it out for himself _ . It all made sense now. Why he needed to form a close bond with Keith, how Lance felt that bond grow more and more each day. It’s because subconsciously, Lance was connecting Red Lion and Keith together without even realizing it. And that thought hit him like a guilt train that had been completely derailed.

 

“I...I understand. Thanks, Shiro.” Lance acknowledged timidly, scratching the back of his head in apprehensive nervousness.

 

“C’mon, let’s get back to the others. I’m sure they’re wondering where we’re at.” Shiro gently pressed against Lance’s back for reassurance, and walked forward in response.

 

“Yeah, they’re probably betting on who can stuff the most marshmallows in their mouth.”

  
  
\-     -     -

 

Honestly, this kind of camping trip was something Lance had not been prepared for at all. He had so much shit thrown at him that he wasn’t entirely sure what to do with himself. Everything he knew felt so isolating, down to his very core where he held himself together with fragile pieces that threatened to break.

 

But he promised. Day after day after day he thought about all the secrets that rested on his shoulders, but he couldn’t do a thing about it. The only person he could talk to was Shiro, but he was more interested in his plan than talking about how Lance felt.

 

“Hey, can you help me pack up the cooking supplies? Pidge is out with Shiro fishing one last time before we leave.” Hunk waved over Lance, who of course responded immediately.

 

“Sure dude, always happy to help. Where’s everyone else?” Not that he cared about where everyone else was. Nobody else.

 

“Eh, Keith is helping Ivy clean up the RVs while Mr. Glasgow is checking his supplies. He wants to me check the radiator on the blue RV before we leave, just in case it overheats.” Hunk grabbed a bunch of the cutlery sprawled across the picnic table, carefully putting them in a rectangular box he probably found in the garbage. At least it was better than nothing.

 

“Ah, okay.” Lance wasn’t really sure what else to say, he felt as thought he had a reason for asking but the more the thought prodded at his brain, the more he couldn’t figure anything out. It was aggravating, to say the least.

 

“You know, I’m pretty surprised at how well Keith is actually getting along with Ivy. Well, not that there’d really be any reason to, but haven’t you ever noticed that Keith is pretty skittish around girls?” Absentmindedly picking up the plates scattered about and putting each one on top of another neatly was all Lance had been focusing on. Hardly paying mind to his best friend, it wasn’t until Hunk nudged him that his words finally reached him.

 

“Huh? Oh sorry, guess I zoned out,” he breathed, reaching for another plate.“Yeah, Ivy’s a real likable person, I don’t think anyone dislikes her.”

 

“Well, she’s pretty, donates a lot of her money to charities, volunteers at animal shelters, is really into sports, and is generally super nice. Even someone like Keith would get along with her,” Hunk added as he settled that last few pieces of silverware in the box.

 

“Yeah, that’s true. And it’s hard to not like Keith either,” Lance blurted, and had no actual clue why the hell he just said that.  _ What _ ?   
  


“Dude, you hated him…” Hunk said matter-of-factly, folding the top panels of the cutlery box over each other to seal it tight.

 

“Okay,  _ yeah _ , but that was back when I was a little shit. Things are different now.”

 

“Alright man, whatever ripens your mangoes.”

 

“I-- You know what I’m just gonna rest my case on that one.” Lance surrendered, closing his own box once the last of the plates were safely placed inside. Before Hunk could retaliate, Pidge walked up with a cheeky grin, while something croaked in her hands.

 

“Nature can suck my ass but look at this frog, guys.  _ Look at this frog _ . It’s so cute? Frogs are so cute.” Pidge spread her fingers slightly, whilst a small amphibian poked its little head out. Surprisingly, it didn’t jump away.

 

“Aren’t you like 17? Stop swearing, Pidgeonator.” Lance snickered, earning a swift kick to his shin that hurt more than he cared to admit.

 

“First of all, fuck off. Second of all, if you want to borrow Injustice 2 from me you better be quiet.” Lance just raised up his hands in defeat, a shitass grin adorning his face.

 

“Hey you know I was just kidding!” He said in defense, yet leaned towards the frog for a better look. “I don’t usually like anything sticky….or slimy...or gross….But you’re right, it is pretty damn cute.”

 

“Lance I hate to crush your ego parade, but you put something slimy and gross on your face every single day.” Pidge replied, the snark in her laugh seeming to be in tandem with the frogs croak. Interrupting Lance before he could even say anything, Hunk spoke. It seemed as though he was in the kiddie pool for this, it was unbelievable.

 

“Hey Pidge, lemme ask you something. You notice anything new about Lance? Like aside from the whole ‘overly cheerful’ vibe he’s got going on?”

 

“Huh. You’re right, he does seem a lot happier. It must be because Ivy’s back. Man, I really missed her to be honest.” Hunk nodded in agreement, but crossed his arms with a smile as if he was carefully considering what to say next.

 

“Ordinarily, you’d be right. But really think about it. When do you see him actually  _ glow _ with happiness?” Pidge took a moment to think on it. When he glowed? What could that possibly mean? Her eyebrows knitted together in deep thought, but then her entire face lit up right when she figured it out.

 

“Oh my God!” Pidge shouted, the frog in her hands leaping away from being startled.

 

“Okay guys, literally right here. What kind of telepathic communication are you hiding from me?” Lance interjected, holding out his hand as if they were going to give him a feasible answer.

 

“IT’S KEITH!” Pidge shouted again, which earned her a thumbs up and a wink from Hunk.

 

“What’s Keith???” Lance demanded, but was interrupted once again as another familiar face walked up.

  
“Yeah, what’s Keith?” Keith asked, walking up to join the group. Everyone but Keith blanched immediately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaaaaand the song theme for this chapter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSvOTw8UH6s
> 
> beware the next couple of chapters because it's only gonna get worse from here :/


	7. Concede

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Because you like Keith.”
> 
> “No! I-.....Ugh, maybe.”
> 
> “I KNEW IT!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what's up gays guess who hadn't updated since march of last year??? yeah it's almost been an entire year since i last updated, my bad. too much shit going on tbh. but i promised i'd finish this fic, and i will!!! it just might take me 10 years to finish it lmao.
> 
> if you want to message me on tumblr, you can find me @frostlance!!

Everything was foggy. Very, very foggy. He couldn’t see anything through the smoky haze, and it was even harder to breathe. What the hell just happened?? Did something...crash here?

Coughing while wading his way through the smog, Lance looked around for any sort of clearance. Unfortunately, the more he moved, the more the miasma smothered his lungs. He had to get out, _fast_.

“H-Hel..” Lance tried calling out, but the words died in his throat as the smoke completely overtook him. However, by his good luck, a tall individual clad in black had found this boy, hoisting him over his shoulder, bringing him over to where 3 others lied unconscious.

The man in black armor displayed a very forlorn expression, although there was no one there to see it.

“I’m so sorry…” He whispered under his breath, his appearance turning even more despondent. He looked at each of his fallen comrades, feeling the self-hatred burning beneath his veins. He hated that he felt like this, but it was his fault that this happened to them.

After all, he was the reason his most treasured friends had become mutants.

* * *

“Lance, we need to talk.” Hunk pressed his palm against his cheek, sitting backwards in his favorite computer chair, his elbow on the arm of the seat.

“Buddy, I’m telling you, there’s nothing to say. I don’t even think you really understand.” Lance blew a strand of hair out of his face, arms crossed behind his head as he relaxed in Hunk’s bed.

“Okay, then help me understand.” Hunk offered, his eyebrows raising.

“I don’t- I don’t know. Maybe I don’t even understand it myself? I feel...kinda weird.”

“Because you like Keith.”

“No! I-.....Ugh, maybe.”

“I KNEW IT!”

“I said _maybe_ , you doof!” Lance backpedaled suddenly, sitting upright on the mattress. “Like I said, I’m not even really sure how I feel. It’s...well…”

“It’s okay man, I’m listening.” Hunk smiled in response, and Lance couldn’t help but smile back. Even if he was a little nosy sometimes, he was glad to have such an amazing best friend.

“I guess I keep thinking about how jealous I was of him. Of how he could so effortlessly be himself and yet be...the best. And I guess I always hid behind another mask of myself, putting on bravado. So if I didn’t try, I couldn’t be humiliated by him, because I’d be doing it to myself.”

Hunk was just silent, intently listening as he put both of his arms on the back of the chair.

“The worst part is that it’s not even his fault, it’s just my own insecurities making the worst possible version of myself. And I guess...I made such a dumbass of myself back in highschool. Being with Keith in this new way, I like it, but it also feels...jarring.”

“So...Are you trying to say that you mistook your jealousy as a crush or something?” Hunk asked. Lance tried to look at him, but he couldn’t.

“It’s one of those dilemmas where you aren’t sure if you want to _be_ them, or be _with_ them. This whole time I’ve been trying to figure that out.” Lance grasped the ankles of his legs, gripping tighter the more he thought about it.

“Have you? You said you didn’t understand, but I think you do. Is it really so bad to admit it?” Lance sighed wearily, the grip on his ankles loosening.

“Maybe not. We’re both different. Grown, changed, matured. But we still feel like kids at the same time.” He paused, breathing in as the gears in his head cycled into a decision. “I think I….do like him. A lot, actually.”

“There ya go. I’m glad you could finally admit it.” Lance just rolled his eyes, but there was a shit-eating grin on his face.

“Yeah yeah, I guess you knew before I did, huh?”

“Of course!” Hunk smiled proudly. “What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t know your inner most deep dark secrets that haunt you, keeping you awake at godly hours of the night?” When Lance looked confused, Hunk pointed to his rocketship clock on the wall that said ‘3:12 AM’. Holy shit! Was it really that late?

“Oh man, sorry dude I didn’t realize it was that late…” Hunk just shrugged, his smile still plastered on his face.

“Nah, watching you pine after Keith is actually pretty entertaining.” He chuckled, and Lance used his right foot to shove Hunk off his chair, where they both burst out laughing.

“Thanks, Hunk. I’m really glad you’re here with me.”

“Well, this _is_ my house.”

“Shut up.” Lance laughed as he threw Hunk’s own pillow at his head. He did.

* * *

The city lights shone brightly from atop a silver water tower, Blue Lion sprawled across its highest point. It was his turn to patrol the city, but honestly, all he wanted to do was see Keith again. After his heavy-hearted confession to Hunk, he often wondered how he’d actually do so with Keith himself.

Could he even bring himself to?

Fearing what could become of their friendship was one complication. Besides, the time didn’t feel right. Not when they have the Galra to worry about, and even though Keith didn’t know of Blue’s identity, it wouldn’t be fair to mess with him like that. He’d be angry enough once he finds out that Lance knew this whole time he was Red Lion.

Blue breathed in the night air, closing his eyes as he listened to the scenery surround him, enveloping him in fantasies and unrealistic desires.

“So I see you decided to skip patrol, alleycat.” Echoed a familiar voice creeping up the side of the tower, Blue snapping his neck towards its direction. It was Red.

“Hey Red.” Blue smiled, looking back towards his favorite glittering night sky. “I was just daydreaming.” Red climbed up the water tower, nesting himself next to Blue comfortably.

“I thought I’d come out here to think, being back at home was stressing me out.” Red said honestly, much to the surprise of Blue.

“What’s going on? Everything okay?”

“Of course.” He affirmed, but his facial expression suggested otherwise.

“Come on. Red, how long have we been a team? Just because we wear costumes and fight the Galra doesn’t mean we aren’t human with real thoughts and feelings just like everyone else. We weren’t always like this, you know.” Red smiled, but it was such a sad smile that Blue was quite taken aback by it.

“Yeah.” Was all he said at first, but he took a deep breath before he spoke again. “You know, you don’t have to care so much about me. We’re faceless behind these masks. Who cares who we are?” Though his words gave the impression they were soft, Blue couldn’t help but hear the hidden blades behind them. It kind of hurt to hear.

“I care.” Blue said firmly, looking directly into Red’s eyes. He just stared back, not knowing what to say. “I care a lot, about the team, about what we fight for, and about you. You can lean on me. You can count on me. No matter what I am here for you.”

Red just stared at him, processing his words as though he could feel Blue’s compassion radiating through. His expression unchanged, tears began streaming down his face, earning a visibly anxious Blue freaking out over his tears.

“Thank you.”

“D-Don’t cry! I just-” Blue just wanted to hold his hand, or hug Red, anything to make him feel better, but it wouldn’t help his own pain that swelled in his heart. “You’re not just some faceless person, Red. You’re one of my most trusted friends and allies. Whatever it is you’re going through, you can put it all on me. All your fears, all your worries…”

Red resisted the urge to reach out and touch Blue’s face. He wanted to so bad, that his heart ached merely at the thought. But that desire crumbled to pieces when he realized he could never have what he wanted. He could never have Blue.

“You’re too good…” Red couldn’t bring himself to look at Blue, not when his heart was bursting at its seams. The worst part is that Blue hadn’t even been the reason he was upset until now. It wasn’t his fault, but why did he have to be so damn perfect?!

“Huh?” Red just shook his head.

“I’m sorry to worry you, but...If I told you what happened, you would hate me.” This time, Blue did reach out, and grasped Red’s hand, holding it tightly.

“Nothing you could do would ever make me hate you.” Although that made Red happy to hear, he couldn’t handle Blue touching him this way, or any way for that matter. He removed his hand, much to the dismay of Blue.

“I have to come clean to the team...But not yet. All I can say is...We have to defeat Zarkon, one way or another. I will never forgive myself if I let him harm anyone else.” Blue nodded, accepting this answer.

“Right. The team and I are right with you, Red. We’ll defeat him, together.” In response, Red delivered that same sad smile, and left without another word.

* * *

The sky was musky, the color of rotting trees soiled in a swamp. It felt like it was about to rain. The Silver Lion in her newly developed uniform, propped up against the brick wall in the alley, waiting for the Galra nearby to pass. A few moments pass. Nothing. Another few moments pass. Still nothing. Where did he go?

Curious, Silver cautiously looked around the corner, only to find no one there. Still on alert, she listened intently to her surroundings, looking around for any sight of the Galra. Nothing. Silver pressed a button on the comm device set in her ear, hoping the team would reach her signal.

“Silver Lion to Team Voltron, I was in pursuit of a Galra soldier when he disappeared. I’m patrolling the area across 55th and Yeldin Avenue. Backup appreciated but not required.” Within a few seconds, she got a response from Black Lion.

“Roger, Silver. Blue is en route to your location, do not engage until he arrives.”

“Affirmative.” She clicked off her comm, but it wasn’t very long before Blue appeared at her side.

“Sup. What’s the plan?” He asked somewhat brazenly, but you could tell by his stance that he wasn’t messing around. Not this time.

“I’m not sure where he went, so let’s go opposite directions. I’ll go right and you go left.”

“Woah woah woah, didn’t Black just imply that we should stick together? I don’t feel right about this.” Silver sighed briskly, her eyes darting across the streets in anticipation.

“I know I’m new to the team, but I can do this.” Blue frowned. He didn’t doubt whatsoever that she couldn’t handle herself.

“Of course you can, but my powers...You probably don’t know but sometimes my powers don’t work. I’m worried they’ll fail me when I need them the most…” Silver, for the first time, looked away from her surroundings and right at Blue.

“I’m sorry, you’re right. Okay, let’s do this together.” She smiled. It made Blue smile too. And so they went together, watching each others backs. What they hadn’t realized was that they were being watched the entire time.

Before either Lion had a chance to react, a looming shadow appeared behind the two, a menacing chuckle erupting from below. They turned around quickly, only for their eyes to widen at who had appeared before them.

“Zarkon…” Blue hissed, the acid in his voice burning through the air.

“Looks like I found a couple of lost kittens,” Zarkon mused, his body radiating pure dark aura. Whatever it was, all they knew was to not let that ugly ass alien touch them.

“What do you want? You know we can call the entire team before you could do anything.” Blue threatened, his fists electrifying with static to emphasize his intimidation.

“Calm down, there’s no need for violence at this time. I’ve come to offer you something.” Despite these words, Blue didn’t dare back down. “Not curious at all?”

“Any offer coming from you is sure to backfire on us, so no thanks.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll change your mind once you hear me out.” He continued on, even though Silver nor Blue cared to hear about whatever he had to say. “What if you could live normally again? As a human, no less. All your powers gone, and you’re back to your mundane lives.”

“What?” Silver huffed, hardly believing this tale. “Why would we want that, when we’re using these powers to stop you?” Zarkon only smiled in return, which made Blue’s blood run cold. He didn’t like this, not one bit.

“I know about your situation, not being able to reveal your identities? You can’t even trust your own teammates! How tragic. What is your ‘team’ going to do when it falls apart? It’ll mean nothing when you have no one to trust. So why not give it up, so you no longer have to hide who you are?” Blue looked down to the ground, his resolution seemingly weakening. Silver looked to her teammate, concern etched on her face.

“Blue?” He didn’t respond.

“See? The fact that he’s even thinking about it means that he knows he can’t trust his own team. What a sad little sight that is.” Without flinching, without moving, Blue clenched his fists tight.

“No. Way.” It was then Blue looked straight unto Zarkon as his expression beamed bright, but angry. “I won’t let you manipulate us into doing what you want. There is nothing in the world I would trade for this team. We were given these powers for a reason: To stop you. And that’s what we’re going to do. Your tricks? Your deals? They won’t work on any of us. So why don’t you go back to whatever sorry hole you crawled out of before we beat your ass?”

Frighteningly, Zarkon smiled again, one so ominous that it bore into the air like rancid milk.

“They won’t work on any of you? Are you really so sure about that?” Was all he said before he vanished, leaving Silver and Blue stunned into silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you know how i used to put a song that fit the theme after every chapter? yep, still doing that! this chapters theme song is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NYXA4e_kgg
> 
> i hope y'all still continue to read this fic, i've been working hard on it despite me not updating for so long. T_T


End file.
